McDonald's Sees Glimmers
Of Return to Its Salad Days

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Mike Roberts, president of McDonald's Corp.'s U.S. operations, might have done a victory lap on Tuesday, after the chain announced its best domestic sales performance in five years.

But Mr. Roberts works for the new, humbled McDonald's, which in January served up the first quarterly loss in its 38 years as a public company. "We have a history of ups and downs at McDonald's," Mr. Roberts says. "We...